Local chefs on how they feed their kids

Tuesday

Mar 27, 2012 at 9:16 PM

Andre Gallant

When Fanae Aaron, a Los Angeles art director, began switching her son from breast milk to solid food, she wondered what she could feed him beyond mashed sweet potatoes and ripe avocados. What about when he grew out of purees? How could she develop his palate and avoid a child whose diet centers on what some chefs call "beige food"?

"I wanted to raise a kid who enjoyed eating like my husband and I do," Aaron said. "We are both foodies of a sort. I was all too familiar with classic kid food issues."

Aaron set out to interview professional cooks to find out what the most renowned chefs in the country feed their children because "chefs think about feeding their children differently than most of us because they think about food differently." The result of Aaron's efforts is the cookbook "What Chefs Feed Their Kids" (Lyons Press), which compiles recipes by age and includes many exotic ingredients.

But according to Athens chefs, raising an adventurous and healthy eater doesn't require shipping breadfruit from the Caribbean or smoking oysters on the half shell.

Picky eaters can be avoided with fresh ingredients, involvement in the cooking process, balanced meals and a whole lot of patience.

When each of his children were infants, Chuck Ramsey, a former chef at Five & Ten, and his wife made most of their children's food themselves, pureeing fruits and vegetables and introducing the little ones to a variety of flavors.

"As babies, they ate most everything we put in front of them, with the exception of okra," he said. "I don't recommend anyone try to puree steamed okra and give it to a kid."

Some chefs raised little foodies with ease. Ken Manring considers himself lucky for raising a daughter who likes simple, homemade food. Hugh Acheson and his wife have been so successful in raising healthy eaters that his kids tote salad to school every day.

"Whether it's a pile of beets, okra or green beans," said Acheson, owner of Five & Ten, The National and Empire State South, his kids eat it all.

But his two girls' appetites aren't entirely veggie-based, he said.

"They jones for Chick-fil-A, too."

A balanced plate is key to his kids' healthful eating, Acheson said.

He might fry up some chicken - not the most adventurous or nutritious choice - but he surrounds it with hoppin' john, pan-roasted okra and a tomato salad.

If he cooks a pot roast, he rounds out the plate with Brussels sprouts, arugula and roasted peppers.

When it comes to feeding fussy kids, "sometimes a little intimidation helps," Ramsey said. "If there is food on the plate that they've eaten in the past, and they are just refusing to eat it, we'll threaten to withhold certain snacks. If there is a box of cookies or some gummy worms in the pantry, those may go sit by the trash can until dinner is eaten."

But Kirsten Bradford approaches picky eaters a bit differently. "Food and control with kids isn't good," said Bradford, a former National employee and the new executive pastry chef at Athens Country Club. "I try and get them fired up about food, but I don't force it."

Involve kids in the cooking process, said Bradford, the mother of three teenagers. Let them pick out the vegetables, she said, but don't pressure them into eating something they just don't like.

"I've seen parents make a lot of mistakes forcing their kids to eat food they don't want," she said.

Dondero's Kitchen's Andrew Pearson cooks at home a lot, and often includes his three kids in making stir-fries or roasting meat. He said that if parents didn't introduce kids to healthy or adventurous food at an early age, start with small elements one at a time.

"You're not going to get a 9-year-old to eat a vegan diet out of nowhere," he said.

At age 3, Chuck Ramsey's son hit what the chef calls a "beige stage," wanting only food like pizza, pasta, potatoes and rice. So Ramsey turned to a little trickery to get past particular tastes - sneaking chopped-up collards into enchiladas and cauliflower into seafood pasta.

Like many of the chefs interviewed for this article, Acheson recommends teaching children where food comes from.

Once a week, Acheson or his wife walks their girls a few blocks down the road to pick up their box of food from Woodland Gardens, an organic farm in Winterville.

"They know where that food comes from," Acheson said. "They've been to that farm."

The fresher the food is, the more Ken Manring's 4-year-old daughter, a fast-food skeptic, likes it.

But that doesn't mean she isn't picky, the owner of White Tiger Gourmet said. She can't stand sprouts or visible onions.

"She doesn't like meat, except for bacon," said Manring, a cook known for his Georgia Theatre rooftop barbecue.

A box of fresh organic produce from a local farm might be out of reach financially for some families, but there are simple ways to connect kids to their food. Children can watch Mom and Dad chop the tomatoes, or crack eggs like Bradford's kids, who could swiftly break shells by age 5. Or simply just avoid boxes and packaging on trips to the grocery store.

For new parents looking to cook colorful, tasty and healthful food for their children - but needing support to pull it all off - Bradford's advice from her time as a new mom in Atlanta might help out: Turn to your friends.

When her children were young, Bradford met with a few other new moms once a week and made meals they could take home and freeze.

It's a win-win, she said - the kids would get a play date, popping in and out of the kitchen to shape cookies, and moms partner with friends to accomplish what otherwise might feel daunting.

CHUCK RAMSEY'S BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH PINTO BEANS

1 pound dry pinto beans

4 tablespoons bacon fat

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

1 stalk celery, peeled and diced

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

2 teaspoons salt

6 chicken thighs, skinless if you prefer

1⁄2 a can of lager-style beer.

1 (28-ounce) can whole, peeled tomatoes, drained and crushed

Heat 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat over medium heat in a dutch oven.

Add the onions and garlic and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.

Add carrots, celery and bay leaf, and cook until softened, about 10 more minutes.

Add cumin and oregano and stir to combine.

Put the beans in the pot along with the soaking water if you soaked them. Top off with water to cover the beans by about 2 inches.

Bring to a boil and cook hard for about 5 minutes. Reduce to heat to low to maintain a gentle simmer.

The beans will take about an hour and a half to two hours (a little less if you soaked them, a little more if you didn't).

When the beans have fully plumped up and no longer have wrinkly skin, add the salt. If you wait until the end to add the salt, you'll have salty bean water instead of seasoned beans.

When the beans are almost cooked through, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of bacon fat over medium-high heat in a fry pan.

Add the chicken thighs and let cook until nicely browned. Crisp them in two batches if need be, so that you don't crowd the pan. Flip, get a nice sear on the other side, then nestle them in to the dutch oven with the beans.

Drain any excess bacon fat from the pan and deglaze with the beer.

When it has almost boiled off, add the crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer, then add to the pot with the chicken thighs and beans.

Simmer for 20-25 minutes, until the thigh meat is tender and pulling away from the bones.

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